Interview: The two-wheeler purchasing cooperative ZEG has over 850 specialist dealers in Germany alone. The ZEG has just made headlines with the Takeover of the battered Kettler aluminum wheels - after Hercules 2014 and Wanderer 2013, another heavyweight that is now at home in Cologne - and a clear message that at ZEG, the focus is primarily on the e-bike portfolio. Electrified bikes in particular have changed the everyday life of a specialist dealer enormously in recent years - only for the better? We spoke to Jörg Prumbaum, the managing director of the ZEG dealer 2-Rad Prumbaum, about the change in bicycle retail in the e-bike age.
Mr. Prumbaum, how would you rate the influence of e-bikes on retail?
We started to deal intensively with the topic twelve or thirteen years ago. In recent years, the segment has developed very strongly, which means that it has also taken up an ever larger place in our range. E-bikes now account for more than 13% of our sales.
Are e-bike sales affecting other bike genres?
Overall, the numbers have remained about the same; the problem is therefore that one must not lose sight of the normal bicycles. Trekking bikes, for example, have been pushed more and more to the sidelines.
So are e-bikes being bought instead of normal bicycles?
A certain cannibalization is certainly there, but you can't convert it one-to-one. In the trekking area, we noticed that we were more or less constant in the good, high-priced range – 800 to 1000 euros. These are people who ride their trekking bikes to work every day and want to stay with them.
In the class of city bikes or normal bicycles for around 500 euros, which are not used every day but for tours at the weekend, it is the case that customers are actually switching to e-bikes. This group hasn't spent a lot of money on a bike so far and is now buying in the cheap class for around 2.000 euros. These are people who are now discovering a passion for e-bikes.
Does the trend towards e-bikes lead to an increased need for advice?
People are getting better and better informed - sometimes so much that they don't know anything anymore and then need complete advice. For example, they know that they want a bike with a mid-motor, but they definitely need advice on that.
What are the customers' most important questions when advising?
Range used to be the number one issue for customers, although people got a lot mixed up with watt hours and amps. Now people are aware of the range; But the topic still comes up, since there are now different battery variants. Most of the time, however, the language comes up at the end of the conversation.
Topic number one today is the reliability that the drive works well. Otherwise, it's more about the type of bike and the seating position. Special components are rarely requested. When it comes to brakes, when people hear the word hydraulic brakes, they put their minds at ease. In general, people are very open these days – on the one hand because there is a great variety of models, but also because many people come to the store well informed.
What about weight?
For customers who are from the city, weight is more of an issue than for people from rural areas. Those who come from the city attach more importance to the weight and the possibility of storing the bike somewhere. But there are also customers who simply want a light bike, and one that is also comfortable. Then we have to find suitable solutions.
Does a large range of e-bikes make sense, or could it be better to limit yourself to fewer models?
It is important that we can say: We have everything there and can recommend what is right for you. People see that theoretically they could get everything and that they are not only presented with what is in the store at the moment.
What about new concepts in this context, such as e-mountain bikes?
You can clearly see that the demand for sporty e-bikes is increasing. With us, their share is between five and ten percent, and that already helps to get the e-bike out of the "old people's corner". With sporty models, the 70-year-old can also make friends with getting on an e-bike. Young people think e-bikes are cool anyway; I have found that it is often the older people who are afraid of contact.
Has the clientele generally shifted in the direction of "younger"?
In any case. On the one hand, there are commuters who used to drive cars and now use e-bikes. Leasing cooperations are also used very frequently in this area. These are mostly younger people, and there are also younger families - the mother with the child trailer or child seat. It's still a bit sluggish, because the image that often prevails here is that you're no longer young and sporty when you ride an e-bike.
What about the intensity of use of e-bikes? Does it get people cycling more?
On the one hand, it can be said that customers with e-bikes come to the inspection more often because they see the bike as a technical device that needs to be serviced. And there are hardly any people who have bought an e-bike but hardly ever use it. Customers from the Bergisches Land in particular proudly tell us that they now travel the 500 meters to go shopping by e-bike, which they previously drove by car.
Is a bicycle shop without e-bikes still conceivable today?
In a larger store, I don't think that works anymore. However, it can do well for smaller shops to limit themselves to regular bikes, since customers want a large selection. Service and training can also cost the dealer a lot of time.
Does the future lie in a separation of both divisions in retail?
I can't imagine it separately in a larger store. Of course there is the idea of pure e-bike shops, and I thought about outsourcing the e-bike business myself; but in the end you forgive yourself too much - many people wouldn't necessarily think of going into an e-bike-only shop. The thought that it is still a bike that you can ride normally, without a motor, is important to many, and there are also customers who toy with the idea of buying an e-bike, but then decide choose a normal bike.
Has the e-bike changed work in the bicycle trade for the better or made it more complicated?
I find it much more interesting than it used to be, both in terms of advice and in the workshop. Everyone used to back off when a customer came to the workshop with an e-bike. Today, the employees are happy because they can demonstrate a level of competence that goes far beyond what was previously thought of as a bicycle mechanic. And through training, they can constantly expand their knowledge.
The fun of selling bicycles has also increased significantly - the enthusiasm of the customers is different than when buying a bicycle. When people come back from the test drive with bright eyes, that's a great feeling for the seller.